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Diarrhea after resection

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 1/10/2013 1:46 PM (GMT 0)
Hello:

My son had a small bowel resection just over a year ago, he battled C-Diff for a few months and recent tests for C-diff are negative. Colonoscopy in December showed ulcers at his resection site and Budesonide was added to his meds.

However, he still continues to have very loose bowel movements and even pure liquid at times. For those of you who have had a resection or for anyone else with any knowledge as to bowel habits after resection I would like to get your opinion as to why he may be having as he describes explosive diarrhea at times. As I am sure you all know this is very stressful for him in High School, he gets so embarrassed.

I know that after a resection there can be issues with bile salts and SIBO, other than that can any of you let me know anything else that I should ask to be addressed at his G.I, visit tomorrow?

Thank you so much.

He takes 6mp, Asacol, Probiotics, Ferrous Sulphate and Vit D daily as well as 9mg Budesnoide.
Posted 1/10/2013 3:40 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Dingleeire,

At no point after his resection he wasn't prescribed Questran (Cholestyramine)?
It is prescribed to prevent diarrhea in Crohn's disease patients who have undergone a resection. I had been using it for roughly a year after my resection, it aids in absorbing bile.

Have a read here-
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholestyramine
Posted 1/10/2013 4:52 PM (GMT 0)
Hello Datawraith,

He has not been prescribed anything for the diarrhea, I am going to mention it tomorrow as I have read on the forum that quiet a few people use it. Looks like people modify the dose to whatever works for them. Thanks for the info he just really wants to get something to help him get through the school day.
Posted 1/11/2013 3:50 AM (GMT 0)
Hi again Dingleeire,

There is also Welchol, which is a medication I now take that is prescribed for diarrhea. This medication too, like Questran (Cholestyramine) absorbs excess bile which can cause diarrhea.

www.webmd.com/drugs/drug-19893-WelChol+Oral.aspx?drugid=19893&drugname=WelChol+Oral

There is also Imodium which is used to treat diarrhea.
www.webmd.com/drugs/drug-11084-Imodium+Oral.aspx?drugid=11084&drugname=Imodium+Oral

Imodium honestly didn't help me too much at any point, prior to the resection or after. With that said, after my resection, I would have had an extremely difficult time with the explosive diarrhea if it were not for the use of Questran.
I hope this helps and best of luck with the GI tomorrow.
Posted 1/11/2013 7:31 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Datawraith:

Just wanted to let you know that the GI Doc prescribed Cholestyramine for my son today so hopefully this will sort him out.

Thanks for the info it was a great help.
Posted 1/11/2013 9:04 PM (GMT 0)
That's great Dingleeire, very glad to hear it. Like I said, I'm surprised it wasn't prescribed after his resection.
It should help him greatly with the diarrhea.

Glad to have helped out and hope he feels better very soon. Minus having that diarrhea, he will be feeling great and definitely less stressed out. :-)
Posted 1/12/2013 12:47 AM (GMT 0)
Many doctors--even GI doctors--hope or assume that you'll be just fine after a resection. But a solid percentage of us are left with "short gut syndrome," also called "bile salts diarrhea," that can last for the rest of our lives. The cholestyramine should help, but you may have to experiment with it to determine what's the best dose and frequency for your son. I found that the prescribed dose helped hugely with the diarrhea, but left me feeling bloated, gassy, and miserable. If that happens to him, you may want to try even a quarter of the prescribed dose--and maybe twice a day instead of once a day. Play with it until you know what works.

For special occasions (i.e., any occasion where having a bad diarrhea attack would be truly terrifying--road trips, weddings, interviews, exams, etc.), get a supply of immodium or Motofen (my personal savior), to use when he's really anxious about his situation.

Good luck with everything. Hope the cholestyramine makes a huge difference.
Posted 1/12/2013 1:10 AM (GMT 0)
nawlinscate:

Thank you for the reply, he is to take half a scoop twice daily. In the morning he takes asacol and Budesnoide before he goes to school. It is my understanding from reading the insert with the medication that it is best to take other meds an hour before taking Cholestyramine. So I guess we will be having early mornings in our house, as it is I am nearly lifting him out of bed to get him up and out in the morning. Then I guess he will take the other half an hour after he takes his 6mp dose before he goes to bed. I hope it works for him.
Posted 1/13/2013 1:06 AM (GMT 0)
I hope so, too. Poor guy!
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